X-ray, I went from a 270 to a 260 a few years back. It's lighter, shorter, recoils a good bit less, and seems to kill deer just as well. I used the 100 gr Nosler BT and the 120 gr version. I think the 120 is more effective on deer and pigs, but only a little bit. The 100 gr kicks noticeably less. Ignore the people that will push you to use 140 gr bullets. Not necessary.

I recommend the Tikka T3 lite Stainless with the 20 inch barrel.

603 appreciate your experience and opinion. The information on bullet weight is great. That is what I'm looking for.

I own two and I hunt with one of them. I also own a .308. To me the felt recoil is a lot less with the CM and as for performance it's been outstanding so far. Last season was the first year to hunt with it and took a 9 pt buck, a doe, hog and turkey with it. So I'd definitely recommend it. My daughter is coming to town this coming Thanksgiving to go deer hunting with me and its the gun she will be using..

Thanks 61

I have .243, 7mm-08, and 6.5 cm and they are all excellent for whitetail hunting. I think the 6.5 cm would give you the best of the afore mentioned calibers for your particular needs. Less recoil than the 7mm-08 with a heavier bullet than the .243. I do not think you would be disappointed with any of these, but if I could only buy one (off the self under 1k) it would be the 6.5 cm. Regarding factory ammunition cost, the last 140 grn elds I purchased were $32 a box and I'm embarrassed to say my reloads (after a month of load work up changing bullets, primers, etc., etc.) barely surpassed them in accuracy. Hornadys factory 140s out of 2 different rifles are sub .6 moa at 100 yards most days. Hope this helps.

I like my 6.5CM, not scared to send it out to 600. Basically same ballistic chart as my 300WM running 200gr not much difference between the two. Killing efficiency is not a issue with it for sure, same kind of dead with a 300 or 7mm if you hit high shoulder. Running Norma brass with 140VLD's, my 10 year old son shoots it pretty confidently, hes not big about 85lbs but we shoot at least twice a week when I'm home. Recoil is acute no need for a break IMO.

For me a 120gr bullet at around 2900 fps is a sweet spot for Texas deer hunting. Flat trajectory, low recoil, plenty of punch. If I were starting out today, I'd jump on the Creed. As it is, I have too much invested in the 257 Roberts: rifles, brass, bullets, etc., so I'll stick with it.

The 257 roberts was one of my first thoughts but man are they high when trying to find one in good shape. Started looking around and reading up on the creed moor and could pick up a quality rifle for half of the price of a 257 m77.

Thanks Burton for the info

I don,t doubt that at all!

If you are a reloader the .257 Roberts is a great round for Texas. I have a Rem 722 Bob and a Winchester Mod 70 .270. The difference in recoil is really noticeable. You are able to shoot 75gr-120gr in the Bob. You can load them up or down for your son. That is what I do for my son. I have 3 different loads (87gr, 100gr, 117gr) that I shoot in mine. Very fun to shoot and hunt with.

I'm a fan of the 6.5 Creedmoor (imagine that!). My son shoots a 7mm/08. Honestly, there's very little difference in the 2 until you get out past 500 yards, and then only a GOOD shooter will gain any advantage with the Creedmoor.

The 7mm/08 recoils a good bit less than a 308 with the same weight bullets. The Creedmoor is even less than the 7mm.

In a hunting situation, I can't imagine that any deer walking the earth would die any quicker with one than the other. I killed an antelope with my 6.5 and it dropped like a sack of potatoes. Never took a step. But there's no doubt in my mind that the 7mm/08 would have killed it just as dead.

Personally, I'd pass on the 308 and get the 7mm/08 or 6.5 Creedmoor in the platform that suited my needs and financial situation.

Either some of you have been living under rocks,or don't stay up on things.
The 6.5 Creedmoor isn't a new cartridge,it's been on the market since 2007. There's been a whole lot of others that have came out since then.
What it does better - It allows the use of the longer/heavier match style bullets to be seated out to or near the rifling lands in most rifles,and still remain under the maximum magazine cartridge length. Something the 260 Remington has always had problems doing.

While I'm a big fan of the Creedmoor,I've assembled a few of them on Savage actions. They all shoot outstanding.
I also shoot the 260 Remington,6.5-06,6.5x6.8 AR,and just finished a 260 AI assembly because I got the barrel for a good deal.

The 6.5 Creedmoor isn't for everyone,but I've never seen one that wasn't very accurate.

You can't go wrong with a CM. I like everything about it and it has become my "go to" caliber/rifle for hunting.

I have and use 308, 6.5cr, 260rem, 243's and 223's. They all work but as you can imagine there are differences in recoil and performance at longer distances. I do most of my hunting with the 243 and 223 these days and I don't really feel undergunned unless its a shot past 300yds or so even though I've used the 223 that far.

I'm selling the 260 because its a lightweight compact model and is a little too small for me unfortunately. I thought it would be a good compromise between the 308 and 243.

You really can't go wrong with 6.5 creedmoor, 7-08 or 308.

Yes some have better BC bullets that won't really matter within 300 yards. The recoil is all be the same if you use similar weight bullets and try to push them at the similar speeds.

You can use 100-125 grain bullets in all of them and significantly reduce the recoil effect.

A 120 grain bullet from the 6.5/7-08 and a 125 grain bullet from a 308 at 2700 fps will feel very mild to most shooters but will still kill to ranges most people shoot.

You can even go down to 100-110 bullets in all of them.

I have a 257 Roberts, 6.5x55, 7-08 & 308 that I reload and shoot.

I've killed a few animals with the 257R and 115 grain Ballistic Tips at 2750 FPS and they never took a step. In March, I killed two 170lbs hogs with a 308 using 130 grain Federal Barrier bullets at 2750 Fps and neither took a step. Most of my hunting lately has been with a 338 Federal which is just a 308 necked up to 338 shooting 180 grain Ballistic Tips at 2750 fps.